California has long been a bastion of social engineering and tax nightmarishness. But if one or another of the recent moves to alter the state’s taxation don’t scare the pants off of you, nothing will. Ruminations of constitutional amendments and legislative shenanigans targeted to raise more dollars have long been kicking around. And that was even before Barack Obama appeared on the scene.

But consider some of the jargon contained within the proposed California constitutional amendment known as the “McCauley-Rooker Wealth Tax and Oceans Preservation Act:”

“The concentration of private wealth in the hands of the few is inconsistent with the tenets of a democratic society. Staggering sums of wealth have come to be concentrated in the hands of a tiny percentage of the population coinciding with growing poverty for tens of millions of persons, declining living standards and worsening economic security for tens of millions more. There has been, in recent decades, a massive shift in wealth and income from the poor and middle class to the rich and wealthy.”

The proposed solution? How about a “wealth tax” of 55 percent on the value of your taxable estate on or after January 1, 2010?

How about a tax of some 37 percent to 54 percent, affectionately known as the “Hasta La Vista Tax.” Catchy, isn’t it? How about an additional tax of some 35 percent on married folk with income of $500,000 or more?

Who knows where this will go. Those touting this insanity have to secure hundreds of thousands of signatures to allow the initiative to hit the ballot in California.

But the trend is indeed disturbing. Government bureaucrats seem to abound these days — firing chieftains in the private sector, finding palatable, trillion dollar budget deficits and taking over business after business in the proposed expectation of making things better for all.

Did it ever occur to anybody that it actually might make sense to reduce taxes, and provide incentives to private sector types to take risk, be successful and actually contribute to growth outside of the government realm?

We wonder.

Is Capitalism dead?

CONSULT YOUR TAX ADVISER - This article contains general information about various tax matters. You should consult your CPA regarding the implications to your own particular situation. Jeff Quinn, the author of this article, is a shareholder in Ashley Quinn, CPAs and Consultants, with offices in Incline Village and Reno. He is also a contributor to the recently published twelfth edition of Tax Savvy for Small Business, published by Nolo. He can be reached at (775) 831-7288, and welcomes comments at jquinn@ashleyquinncpas.com.